Since When
by Microsuede Mouse
Summary: After their interview on The Music Scene, Wen and Olivia are pretty on edge. She gets impatient - she's been waiting so long. (Wen thinks he knows how long, but he's mistaken.)


Another quick one based on the bonus interview scene on the DVD. This one came about when I realised I always write Wen making the first (or decisive) move - there are reasons I do that, but I thought it would be fun to try the other way around.

Enjoy! And if you have a sec, leave a comment, it would make my day!

[Cross-posted to AO3]

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Backstage at The Music Scene the band barely had time to talk to each other as they were shuffled around, trying to sign a few autographs for a handful of fans before they were ushered away to shake hands with the show's producer and a bunch of indistinct industry professionals. Still, everyone could see how Wen hovered uncertainly, maybe a little excitedly, over Olivia's shoulder, sometimes touching her hand gently but usually not quite. Not for the first time, the band found themselves silently thanking the universe for Mr. Banjaree's strong personality as he elbowed his way forward after a few moments, took business cards from the more insistent schmoozers, and then loudly announced that the band had to rest up before their next appointment. With that he waved them out the door and finally they all piled into the limousine waiting in the studio parking lot.

Everyone was still a little bit on their toes as long as Mr. Banjaree was with them; they liked him, but he was a little strict, and that aside he was still Mo's _dad_. Mo and Scott had, by now, perfected the act of not-dating in front of him; she sat with Stella and he sat with Charlie. They barely interacted except for the normal participation in the group conversation. They were talking about how the interview had gone, and the performance. Wen and Olivia were mostly distracted, still kind of _hovering_ without touching or looking at each other much. They sat close together (not that that was unusual for them) but aside from that they were conspicuously _not_ interacting too much, trying to contribute to the discussion, though clearly neither of them were entirely focussed. When Mo leaned over to say something to Olivia she could feel the tension radiating off her friend's body.

After a twenty-minute drive they were all squeezed into an elevator up to their top-floor hotel suite. Finally Mr. Banjaree left them alone, kissing his daughter's head and telling her he was going back to his own room for a nap, and he'd see them at dinner. "Sleep well, Baba," she wished him, shutting the door behind him as he left.

Now it was just them. Mo and Scott both visibly relaxed, always a little on edge around Mr. Banjaree. He threw an arm around her shoulder, laughing, "Close call, huh?"

"No kidding," she muttered. "By the way, Olivia, thank you—" She turned to thank the singer for her interference, but she stopped dead at what she saw.

Olivia and Wen had turned to face each other, smiling awkwardly. "So um, d'you—" But whatever Wen had been about to ask was lost when Olivia grabbed him by the lapels and yanked him down into a kiss. Shocked, Wen's eyebrows shot up and his hands floated up into the air to either side of his head for a moment, eventually drifting down to her sides as hers slid up to cup his neck, one thumb on his jawline.

Stella, turning to see what was going on, shouted gleefully and inarticulately; Mo squeaked and grabbed Scott's arm as he and Charlie began to laugh. Olivia finally released Wen's face, hands staying on his neck as they pulled apart. She was already grinning when he slowly opened his eyes, looking dazed.

"And here I thought you might want to go talk alone somewhere," he said after a moment, blinking and giving his head a little shake.

"I got impatient," she admitted, unsuccessfully biting back her enormous smile. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

"I mean," he countered, recovering a little bit of his composure and smiling back at her, "I think I have _some_ idea."

"You really don't," she laughed.

"You guys need to get a room," Scott told them with a chuckle, prying Mo's digging fingers out of his arm. "Not that I'm not, like, really happy for you two, but you're going to kill Mohini."

Olivia giggled, leaning her head against Wen's chest as she turned to look at the others. "Sorry Mo," she said.

Mo, biting down hard on a huge grin, shook her head. "Don't be," she insisted, voice high. "I've been waiting, like, eight months for this."

"Right?" Stella responded, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. "I've been trying to set them up from the _start_ , they've been so obvious all along."

"I will admit," Scott conceded, tipping his head to one side, "I could see it the first time I saw you onstage together."

"See," Wen said with a grin, pulling Olivia against him a little bit. "Apparently we've been embarrassingly obvious the whole time, but I totally know how long it's been. I mean, that first time I came to your house and we sat out in the backyard—"

Olivia snorted, trying to stifle her laughter with a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said when he looked down at her, amused but questioning. "You just – you actually _don't_ know."

"I think it's been a bit longer than that, man," Charlie said, raising his eyebrows. The others turned to look at him in surprise, and he laughed. "What? I'm clueless when it's _me_ , but I could see it all over _them_."

Wen looked down at Olivia again, and she nodded. "He's right," she said, her smile growing when Wen frowned in confusion. Mo and Stella exchanged delighted looks. "Listen, I don't know if you remember," she finally began to explain. "But in seventh grade we were in a group together on a history project. Us and Rakesh. He didn't do much, barely spoke to us, but you were really nice to me even though I was super shy. Plus, you know, it was your favourite subject, and you got really excited about our topic… something about World War II, I don't remember. The point was, you were nice to me and you were really adorably enthusiastic and you were funny and I had a crush on you for the rest of the year. It never entirely faded."

Red-faced, Wen looked to one side while he thought for a moment, and then suddenly the puzzlement disappeared. "I forgot about that," he admitted sheepishly as he looked back at her. "I… can't believe I forgot about that. Damn, why didn't I get to know you better _then?_ "

"That's okay," Olivia assured him. "You've made up for it." She pulled him down and kissed him again. Once again his eyebrows shot up to his hairline, but he responded faster this time, wrapping his arms around her lower back and pulling her close.

Mo squeaked again.


End file.
